


The Answer (is You)

by dxndelixns



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Best Friends, Cute, Do Kyungsoo - Freeform, EXO - Freeform, Fluff, KaiSoo - Freeform, Kim Jongin - Freeform, M/M, Rain, Romance, Roommates, Sharing a Bed, drunk!soo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-26
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2019-07-02 15:46:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15799638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dxndelixns/pseuds/dxndelixns
Summary: Jongin finds his reason to wake up just beside him.





	The Answer (is You)

Bed sheets rustle, and Jongin opens his eyes when weight did decrease from the space beside him.  Suddenly, his side of the bed feels bigger than usual, the mattress feels harder and the room a whole lot colder.  He turns and sees a petite man putting on an oversized shirt, stretching as he walks to where the door is.

“Wake up, Jongin, we’re going to be late.”

The magic is ruined.

He needs to stop expecting that Kyungsoo would stay by his side a little bit longer than usual.  He should stop looking forward to nights when they would sleep together, when Kyungsoo had no late night work and Jongin had no other things to attend to.  He definitely needs to stop thinking that an owl-eyed, heart-shaped lips boy, with his cute façade, would be his.

Because that’s definitely not going to happen, and he should face that reality before it hits him like a truck full of feels.

Smile, he tells himself.  It’ll only make things worse if you don’t.

It is Kyungsoo that makes him open his eyes, because the first thing he wants to see is the guy slipping off the sheets and putting on shirts he grabbed somewhere, probably from Jongin’s closet, never mind the sinking feeling in his chest.  It is Kyungsoo that makes him race through the day because Kyungsoo would be there when he comes back home, never mind that the guy does not greet him with a warm welcome.

It is Kyungsoo that completes his life and it took him months — no, years, to realize that.

He slips out of bed, puts on his shirt and walks out of the suddenly colder-than-Antarctic room to be greeted by the smell of food wafting from the kitchen.  It was like he was on autopilot—first he is standing there, basking in the smell of food, and then he is grabbing plates and setting them up on the table, sitting once done.

“Here, have some breakfast, I’ll dash out in a while, okay?” Kyungsoo says, a large amount of fried rice and sausages making its way on Jongin’s plate. The smaller of the two, meanwhile, places his food on a plastic container.  He does not forget to ruffle Jongin’s hair before heading to the bathroom to take a shower.

They are never long on one place at the same time besides being in the bedroom, and that is because of necessity, not of want. Kyungsoo was lazy in setting up a bed, and Jongin was all too glad to take the guy in and make the other room a mini-library for the two of them.  Everyone else thinks they’re a couple; Kyungsoo laughs and shakes his head, denying it to no end, and Jongin thinks, but I want it to be true.

Kyungsoo makes short work in the shower, and in thirty minutes flat he is out and about, facing kids for the day.  Jongin, meanwhile, eats up his breakfast by then and with a smile and wave sees Kyungsoo out of their pad—no, technically, his pad. Since they decided to be roommates, the two never found the time or the heart to renegotiate the flat, making Jongin the rightful owner of the place. He wouldn’t mind sharing it to Kyungsoo, of course, but only if the other asked.

He finishes his breakfast leisurely, getting up early every day since Kyungsoo had to be out by six AM and he didn't have to be at office until nine. He adds that to the mental list of things he had to thank Kyungsoo for, then gets up and washes the dishes. Jongin wishes that he could, for once, spend the day with Kyungsoo in the house. Just the two of them, no job or parents (and kids) calling and asking for Teacher Do because what did he say again about the assignment? He chuckles at the thought of kids coming ‘round in their flat, not because it could be a funny instance but because it really happened: Kyungsoo took home a kid after the kid said that his parents were not going home that night as they were extremely busy. In the rarest of occassions, Kyungsoo offered to take the kid home much to the relief of his parents. Jongin willingly spent his night on the sofa, offering the bed to both Kyungsoo and the kid (although part of that has to do with Kyungsoo being very adorable while playing with the boy in the living room, smiling widely at Jongin as he did so).

Jongin takes his time showering, dressing up in casual wear, as it is Friday. On Saturdays and Sundays, Kyungsoo would go home to his parents, a four-hour trip. Sometimes Jongin feels like he owns a B&B, not a flat in Seoul. His parents are nearby, so he can see them wherever and whenever he wants - but Kyungsoo can't, and he understands that. Jongin finishes up and by eight o'clock sharp is out and about, walking to work.

His work is full of paperwork and documents needing to be fixed, amended and created; and soon he is lost in the sound of typing and all the shouting to ask people what needs to be done, when and how. After a while it is six in the evening, and while most people are punching out, a tanned, slouching figure remains holed up in his cubicle, typing one last quick document for a client. He hates going home just as Kyungsoo is leaving; the few instances that it's happened was awkward, so Jongin got into the habit of going home late in Fridays, asking for longer documents to be amended and typed.

After the document has been sent for revisions, Jongin puts on his earphones and takes the stairs down, only to be greeted by the sight of torrential rain. People are stranded on the lobby, some waiting for their rides while others with no umbrellas. Lucky me, Jongin says under his breath, as he takes out his umbrella and drapes his jacket over himself, braving the rain. Looks like it'll rain for a while.

The thought struck something in him - Kyungsoo couldn't go home in this rain; he wouldn't risk it, right? Jongin knew better, though, and that urged him to walk faster so that he could at least persuade Kyungsoo to not come home for the moment, stay inside the flat where it was safe and warm. Jongin smiled at the idea, and although it was kind of evil, he thanked the rain for making Kyungsoo stranded.

And stranded his roommate was, scowling in the living room, his things all packed as Jongin opens the door.

"Oh- hey, Kyungsoo." Jongin feigned ignorance, all the while opening the umbrella outside to dry it. He shakes the water off his jacket and enters the room, tilting his head to his friend. "Can't go home?"

"Look at that rain; I'm surprised you even got home." Kyungsoo huffs then blows air out of his mouth upward, making his hair move slightly. Meanwhile, thunders roared through the sky outside and the rain poured much harder now, slightly startling Kyungsoo and making him jump a little. Jongin shrugs, then goes into their room to change to a shirt and shorts. He walks out and sits beside his friend, silence evident in the room.

After a few minutes Kyungsoo sighs, defeated, and walks back to the room. "Guess I won't be able to go home this weekend." He says, leaving the bag in the room and changing into more comfortable wear. When he goes out, he is greeted by the sight of Jongin shuffling through the cupboards, looking for something.

"What are you looking for?" Kyungsoo asks, tilting his head and crossing his arms while leaning on the doorframe.

"Soup. Noodles. Anything hot?" Jongin looks back at Kyungsoo, smiling.

"Here, let me." The older of the two said while taking out pots and ingredients, while Jongin looks from the side.

"What are you cooking, hyung?"

"Kimchijjigae." Kyungsoo smiles. "My parents would've cooked me this if I went home today."

Jongin nods and steps beside Kyungsoo, looking at all the vegetables and the ingredients that needed to be prepared. "So, what can I help you with?"

Kyungsoo looks at him incredulously, smirking. "What is the rule in this kitchen?" He asks, as if asking a small child. Jongin feels chided, but still answers while backing out. "When Kyungsoo is in the kitchen, don't disturb him."

"Good. Now set the table up then go away. If you want to watch me, watch from afar. Where I can't here you breathing." Kyungsoo concentrates on the task at hand now, while Jongin does what he's told then looks over to see his roommate masterfully multi-tasking, boiling water while cutting up ingredients and making preparations.

That's the thing with Kyungsoo - he has to have rules for everything. "No shoes in the couch." "Wear slippers everywhere." "If you have time, at least sweep the floor and I'll mop when I get home." "My clothes are in this part of the closet, yours are there, but I'm sorry if I can't follow that - but I'll wash it before giving it back to you." "My kitchen, my rules. If I'm in the kitchen, don't disturb." It feels a little like the classroom where Kyungsoo teaches, Jongin thinks, if he ever attended it. It's not exactly bad, but sometimes the tall, tanned man thinks, I hope Kyungsoo isn't that clean-cut. Like a shiny, new blade, Kyungsoo could easily make someone bleed if approached wrong.

He wants to help Kyungsoo now but he doesn't know how, and the pitter patter of the rain just makes him a little relaxed now. Jongin slowly, but quietly, moves nearer, sitting on a stool by the counter while watching Kyungsoo. Meanwhile, a wonderful and delicious smell wafts from the stove, where Kyungsoo grins and lets the stew boil. Jongin takes this chance and stands up, walking over to where the smaller is, and places his chin on the other's shoulder.

Kyungsoo looks shocked and turns his face to scold his roommate, only to find a Jongin looking longingly at the boiling pot. He chuckles, then bumps Jongin's head with his softly. "Hey."

"That looks amazing, hyung." Jongin nods to the pot. "Isn't that ready?"

"Nope, not yet." Kyungsoo replies. "It still needs to boil a little more."

Jongin snakes his hands around Kyungsoo's waist, meaning to give him a hug as a way of thanking him for the stew, but he knew that it was much more than that. Kyungsoo stiffens slightly, surprised by the sudden back hug. A few seconds more, thinks Jongin. But this is a few seconds too much.

Jongin awkwardly parts, scratching his nape. "So, uh, hyung." He mutters and then clears his throat. "Let's eat?"

Kyungsoo brings the pot directly on the table, where Jongin has placed the mat on the table earlier. Wiping his hands, the smaller of the two sits down, opposite Jongin, who sat down as soon as the pot was set.

"So, Jongin. How was your day?" Kyungsoo asks. Jongin looks at him and tilts his head. They talk about their days, yes, but only if it was extremely stressful or there was a funny instance in either the office or the classroom and they wanted to let it out and get over it. Never has Kyungsoo opened up the topic willingly, and on the dinner table no less. Jongin shrugs and responds, keeping it cool.

"Nothing, really - there was one client who kept resending her document when I specifically said that I was finished with it and that everything that she asked for was done. That was a mess. Other than that, my day was ordinary." Jongin took a bite of the stew and was immediately warmed from the inside. He asks back, "how was yours?"

Kyungsoo shakes his head. "Still the same old - oh - we were having a talent show for the kids earlier and this one kid kept shouting "I don't sing! I don't sing!" then when we were almost done, he stood up, took the mic from my co-teacher, and started singing his life off." He chuckles, which Jongin found very, very appealing given that his voice is deep, smooth and almost velvety-like. "I was reminded of myself when I was his age."

Of all the times they've talked (and they have talked a lot), Kyungsoo's childhood stories were like the Holy Grail of stories for Jongin. He never talked about his childhood mainly because Jongin was a part of his childhood, so what’s there to talk about? Moreover, he just doesn't seem to open much about when he was a child outside school.

"Oh? Did you seriously tell your parents that you don't sing?" Jongin, eager to make conversation, responds. Kyungsoo nods and swallows before answering.

"Yeah, my parents laughed out loud when I said it. I just didn't want people to ask me to sing again and again and again. That's tiring."

"Same with dancing." Jongin said, taking a huge bite of rice. "Remember when we were kids, and everyone wanted me to dance on the play?"

"Yeah, and then you ran away because you were shy — you were so red, I remember — and then you hid in the bathroom —"

"You found me that time." Jongin smiles at the memory. "No one else except you and my parents and the teacher followed me."

"But you still danced that day, didn't you?" Kyungsoo asks. Jongin nods back, remembering the time when his hyung, so patient, coerced him to get out of the bathroom stall and comforted him enough that in his mind, he danced for his hyung and his hyung only.

They eat in comfortable silence, sometimes looking outside at the rain that still poured heavily, thunder and lightning appearing once in a while. Jongin soon realizes that the pot is almost empty, save for a few floating extra pieces of kimchi which he still ate, grateful for the hot meal from Kyungsoo today.

As Kyungsoo clears the table and washes the dishes (despite Jongin's insistence that he wash the dishes instead), the taller of the two takes out a bottle of soju and places it on the table, much to Kyungsoo's amusement.

"Aren't we too full to drink?" Kyungsoo says, patting Jongin's stomach gently to make him move out of the way for the plates to dry in the rack. Tanned hands gently replicate the movement, fearful for the memory being wafted away by the wind.

"Then maybe later, I guess." Jongin takes the bottle back, a little sad over the rejection, but then Kyungsoo takes out their Scrabble box that they haven't used in a while.

"We can't do anything in this freaking weather," Kyungsoo says as he prepares the Scrabble score sheets, "so let's just play. At least we can learn something."

Jongin chuckles- Teacher Kyungsoo sure is cute. He sits in front of the board, Kyungsoo shaking the bag with the tiles inside. They each pick one letter and Jongin goes first, as he picked the letter E over Kyungsoo's M. Both pick out their six remaining letters, their hand slightly touching as they reach over, lettiing one go first and then the other.

Jongin starts with the word "ENIGMA" which Kyungsoo quickly follows up with the word "ANDANTE". The two of them take turns in silence, putting in words in the board until Jongin chances upon a blank “I” and puts in “IKIGAI” on the board, to the confusion of Kyungsoo.

“What’s that word?” Kyungsoo asks.

“It means the reason to wake up; a thing that gets you up in the morning. Basically when you’ve found your purpose in life.” Jongin shrugs. “Anyway, it’s a word, so it counts.” He tallies the score: Kyungsoo’s leading, but only with a few points. With “IKIGAI” he takes the lead. After a few more futile attempts, Kyungsoo gives up with his remaining letters Z and J. Jongin wins and with a smile, he leans back triumphantly.

“What do I get out of this, hyung?” He smirks, clapping his hands together.

“Nothing.” Kyungsoo says as he clears the board. He leaves one word though, a little bit longer than the others.

“Have you found your reason to wake up in the morning?” He points to the word on the board: “IKIGAI”.

“I don’t know...” Jongin lies and leaves the question answered for now. The truth is, he’s found his reason to wake up in the morning and it is the person in front of him. Everything that he thinks of, that he plans for and that he is all goes back to the same person: his roommate, the person in front of him now, the person he swore he would always run back to. His purpose in life, maybe not yet, but he hopes to find it — with Kyungsoo someday, probably.

The wind outside was strong enough to warrant sound, the rustling leaves struggling to stay on their branches. Inside Jongin brew a similar storm, one that was struggling to get out. He clears his throat and stands up, hoping for Kyungsoo not to notice that he’s really trying not to confess right there and then. Kyungsoo puts back the Scrabble board in its place and sits back down.

“Is your offer to drink still on?”

Jongin laughs at how casual Kyungsoo opened up the topic. They barely even go for drinks together; usually it is for reunions and such, never just the two of them. The taller of the two nods and stands up to get the drinks in the refrigerator, while Kyungsoo rummaging through his bag for his hard drive, putting on a movie as Jongin takes the soju, beer and some snacks he found to the table near the living room. Both of them love to watch movies and they make it a point to watch new ones when they come out, but lately Kyungsoo’s been too tired from teaching, as he is looking to get himself a permanent position as a teacher, and Jongin just lets his roommate sleep rather than the two of them watching.

“I know this is cheesy and all—“ Kyungsoo starts to reason as the movie starts.

“It’s fine; I haven’t seen this in a while so I don’t have the slightest recollection of what’s going to happen.” Jongin says, pouring soju on a shot glass and giving it to Kyungsoo. On the floor below him, his roommate nods and downs the liquid in one gulp, letting out a sound of relief. Jongin does the same, and as the movie progresses, they go through the bottle quickly, mixing it with beer. Jongin sits on the sofa while Kyungsoo prefers the floor and they both watch the movie that way.

The movie was Love, Rosie and while it was true that Jongin hasn’t seen it in a while, it wasn’t that true that he had no recollection of what was going to happen. Instead of watching the movie, he subtly watched his friend, sitting on the floor, munching on some snacks and tapping Jongin’s leg at times to make him watch for a moment. After a while he goes back to watching Kyungsoo and realizes that the movie is something like them, save for the part where they confirm their love each other because Jongin thinks, that’s not going to happen, not with his crush right here yet so far.

By the time that they get to the part where Rosie realized that the father of her child was cheating on her, Kyungsoo is well on the way to being drunk, and Jongin is leaning back, slightly tipsy, when he realizes that he’s never seen a drunk Kyungsoo before, since they both leave early in other functions and never make it past the time where Kyungsoo would be slurring. Like right now.

In between intelligible slurs he hears the words “Jongin” and “beside me” and Jongin obeys, leaving the couch to sit on the floor beside Kyungsoo. Just as soon as he does, though, the smaller of the two lets out a heavy sigh and leans his head over to Jongin’s shoulders, eyes blinking slowly. Jongin hears a mutter of “What would I do without you”, crisp and clear in his ears. He looks and sees Kyungsoo still watching, his hand anchoring him on both sides. The smaller of the two turns to look at Jongin, their faces so close again, and he smiles this soft, beautiful smile of his that Jongin just had to smile back.

“You’re drunk.” He says to Kyungsoo, poking his hyung’s forehead gently with his finger. Kyungsoo tries to catch the finger in his mouth, mock biting the air as he did so, before smiling again.

“I’m not dwunk.” Kyungsoo says. Jongin chuckles and says, “Sure, not dwunk you say” which earns him a pouting Kyungsoo, resting his cheek on Jongin’s shoulder. The movie was long forgotten at this point, the two of them lost in their own world.

Kyungsoo nuzzles his cheek more, sighing contentedly. Jongin takes his opportunity to let his hand near where Kyungsoo’s is, then slowly his pinky touches Kyungsoo’s. He waits for a minute, planning on holding the smaller’s hand, when he feels the hand beneath his move. They both look at their hands, Kyungsoo turning his palm-up and sliding it under Jongin’s, then fitting his fingers perfectly between the spaces of Jongin’s hand and locking them together.

Jongin almost couldn’t breathe with the quickness and boldness of Kyungsoo’s move so he sucks in a quick breath and takes a long look at the person beside him, who has captured his heart, and soul, and everything.

“Your hands are soft.” Kyungsoo muses, rubbing his thumb lazily on Jongin’s palm. The movie was reaching the last scene at this point, but both were more amused by the sensation of each other’s hand against theirs. It was like the meeting of two poles of a magnet.

“I’d love to kiss you.” Jongin suddenly blurts out of nowhere, like some idiot who suddenly had the urge to say anything that was on his mind. Kyungsoo slightly backs away from him, blinking slowly, as if processing the words that Jongin just said. It was now or never, though, so as in the movie Rosie and Alex kiss, their bliss emanating for each other, Jongin closes the gap between them and kisses Kyungsoo, the one person he was truly in love with. Soft lips nestle against each other, with the gentleness that speaks volumes; of “I love you” and “I’d love to take care of you”, of “You’re the reason I wake up in the morning” and “You’re my everything.”

Nothing happens more than the kiss, though, because Jongin pulls away, opening his eyes to see a Kyungsoo with his still-closed ones, his lips slightly pouting because of the part, cheeks flushed and the grip on Jongin’s hand is strong, like he doesn’t want to let go. When he finally opens his eyes, Jongin smiles gently, looking for a sign of recognition, but Kyungsoo sighs, lets go of his hand, and stumbles towards the bedroom where he falls asleep as soon as he hit the bed. Jongin is left to wonder what Kyungsoo was thinking until the next day.

Jongin tries to catch some sleep, beside Kyungsoo, bugged by the other’s reaction to their kiss.

The next morning, the sun was still missing, but the rains and winds have stopped, albeit momentarily. Jongin opens his eyes, waiting for the weight of yesterday to hit him, and it does— he kissed Kyungsoo and yet never heard from him. His back is against his roommate, but he feels like the bed is still full; and as he turns around slowly he sees Kyungsoo propped up on one arm on his side, a smile on his lips. He looked peaceful and calm, and Jongin cannot help the wild beating of his heart. Jongin smiles back, unsure, then it was now Kyungsoo who closes the gap between them, kissing Jongin fully on the mouth for a few moments before parting. He takes Jongin’s hand in his and intertwines their fingers again.

“I didn’t forget last night, Jongin. And you’re right: I’d love to kiss you too.” Kyungsoo, reddening, says. “Good morning and although I’ll still be here tomorrow, I’d love nothing more but to spend a few more extra moments with you now.”

Jongin smiles, his face bright. “You have no idea how much I wanted this for so long.”

“You have no idea how much I did, either, didn’t you?”

Jongin leans in and kisses Kyungsoo again, sighing contentedly. They stay like that for hours, beside each other, knowing each other a little bit more.

And what do you know, Jongin is Kyungsoo’s reason to wake up in the morning, too.

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be entitled "Ikigai" but then I changed my mind since it's really not a good representation of the word. But for anyone out there that wants to learn the true (and right!) meaning of the word, do search it up. It's really beautiful. 
> 
> And, hey. This is for you, the Jongin to my Kyungsoo.
> 
> Anyway I do hope that you like it! Kudos and comments are loved.


End file.
